Thread: My mother has been enabling my RAD

I just got an email from my mother saying that she and my dad had visited an antiques store and bought three razors for me. They are going to have to post them to me and I can't wait to find out what they are like.
The first one she described as "The first one is in a very old box and has ???TON & ?? Silversmiths and Cutlery, Sheffield, England marked on the blade handle. The scales are damaged and the box is engraved by hand, reading J. Knuckey."

The second one sounds intersting. This is how she described it, "The second one is unboxed and the scales are in immaculate condition and made of tortoishell. There is writing on the scales “Widerstrahl Solingen’. There are some very small nicks on the blade and the same word widerstrahl appears on the blade in gold alongside a flag. On the back of the handle part is written A2718 type (I think)."

The third one she said was a Valet Auto strop. I have a fair idea of what that one looks like.

If anyone has an example of either of the first two, I would love to see what I can expect to arrive in the mail. I know all I have to do is wait for them to arrive, but like most RAD sufferers I don't have much patience.
Cheers.

How thoughtful!
I'd be curious about the Sheffield!

be advised that tortoiseshell is extremely rare and somewhat harder to identify than most people think
I quested after tortoise for long enough to know

there are two distinct alternatives commonly seen in it's place

one is celluloid
the other is honey colored horn painted with a dye

I've tried to imitate the latter and have matched the color exactly with chromium trioxide (brown, not green)
I like this very much but be forewarned that this finish is only "skin deep" and will scrub off in short order if buffed vigorously or sanded

This one is the Solingen Widerstrahl. The scales aren't tortoise shell like my mother thought, but they are imitation tortoise shell. It has a few small chips taken out of the edge, but they should easily hone out. More worrying is the machine markes where someone has tried to sharpen it on some kind of grinder. But I think this can be polished out. On the blade is some gold wash depicting a flag at one end amidst some flourishes. At the other end is the star of David. On the tang it reads Widerstrahl Solingen. On the other side of the tang it reads No 718 type.
This razor would be in near immaculate condition if it wasn't for the tool marks. Why do people think they can sharpen a razor on something that sends small pieces of red hot metal flying?

Nice one!
Luckily there's plenty of blade left to hone the chips out.

Here is the other one. It has a lot of rust in some places and the scales didn't survive long enough for me to get out my camera. On the tang it reads something like 'ST....TON & Co Silver smiths & cutlers Sheffield England.
The pivot hole looks like it might be a bit big. I might be able to do something with this one.

Originally Posted by ndw76

Here is the other one. It has a lot of rust in some places and the scales didn't survive long enough for me to get out my camera. On the tang it reads something like 'ST....TON & Co Silver smiths & cutlers Sheffield England.
The pivot hole looks like it might be a bit big. I might be able to do something with this one.

There's Stenton, Wm. & Son in the razor database. Sheffield, England.

Stenton, Wm and Son "Again Superior" 13/16 - Straight Razor Place Wiki

That blade will probably look nice once it's cleaned up!

They're both nice blades - a small nick in one I saw but easily honed out. The one that has the Widerstrahl stamp looks like a nice razor by any measure. The one that you think has a pivot hole that may be too big is not bad at all! If indeed the hole winds up being too large, it's a simple matter of pushing a bit of good epoxy (T88 maybe) into the hole, allow it to cure well, and then drill out a new hole. Others may have alternate ways to reduce a hole's diameter but that's the method I've read being used successfully. Both have the original shapes to them and appear to simply be in need of good cleanings and some honing. Not bad at all!

Since my last post to this thread I have had some time to do a little bit of a clean up of the sheffield razor. I had a go at some of the rust with a brass wire brush. I can now make out the makers mark. It says Benston & Co Silversmiths & Cutlers Sheffield England. I looked for this brand here, Straight Razor Manufacturers and Dates of Operation , but they have no mention of this maker. Has anyone here heard of Benston & Co Silversmiths & Cutlers?

I believe the auto strop is a safety razor. If your collection is getting too big for you, you could always sell a few in the classifieds on these forums. With a fair value I bet you could pair the collection down a bit.